Tennis / Wimbledon '94: Courier attacks rankings

JIM COURIER is unhappy with the men's ranking system and wants it changed. He believes that every event played should count not just the best 14 results as at present.

But a change back to the system in operation before 1990 in the foreseeable future was unlikely, a spokesman for the ATP Tour said yesterday, 'but it is a bit unfair,' she added.

Courier,ranked seventh but seeded fifth at Wimbledon, said: 'Before, if you lost, it counted against you, your ranking went down. Now if you lose, you pick up your five grand, you have a free hotel, you hang around for the week and play again next week.

'It doesn't hurt if you lose. With best of 14, if you play 30 weeks, 16 don't count. Before, those 30 weeks all counted and you had better be ready to play. We're professionals. We should be rewarded for playing well and penalised for playing poorly.'